Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2024 37 FOOTBALL RECRUITING a pick for a touchdown. Bennie-Powell finished 2023 as the No. 51 safety and No. 537 overall player in the nation. — Kelly 18. SEAN SEVILLANO JR. DL • 6-1½, 325 CLEARWATER, FLA. • CLEARWATER ACADEMY INTERNATIONAL It can't be a coincidence that on the same day ex- N o t re D a m e c o m m i t Owen Wafle announced that he was backing off his Irish pledge Irish coaches gave Sevillano the green light to commit. When Notre Dame landed Sevillano's pledge in early June, it was still in hot pursuit of five-star interior defensive lineman Justin Scott, who was far from a guarantee. Notre Dame wanted to make sure it landed a nose tackle in the 2024 class, and Sevillano was their man. He was highly productive as a senior, posting 101 tackles, 65 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 1 blocked field goal. Sevillano is the No. 52 defen- sive lineman and No. 545 overall pros- pect in the country. — Singer 19. BODIE KAHOUN LB • 6-3, 215 ROANOKE, VA. • PATRICK HENRY The Notre Dame foot- ball program has had suc- cess with football recruits that also play lacrosse — freshman wide receiver Jordan Faison is a prime example. After Kahoun's junior sea- son, the Irish were one of 16 Power Five football programs to offer the former Ohio State lacrosse commit. He also has an opportunity to play lacrosse for the Fighting Irish, but he is not expected to pursue that opportunity initially. Kahoun did not think about football seriously until his junior season. He then put up one of the most impressive senior campaigns of any Irish 2024 class recruit. Kahoun had 200 tackles (126 solo), 27 tackles for loss and 9 sacks. He also compiled 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble re- coveries, and 1 blocked punt. Kahoun's short-area quickness and aggressive- ness translate from lacrosse to the foot- ball field. He is a candidate to be an early special teams contributor. Kahoun is the No. 50 linebacker and No. 548 overall recruit nationally. — Kelly 20. KARSON HOBBS RB • 6-1, 180 CINCINNATI • ARCHBISHOP MOELLER Notre Dame was able to flip Hobbs from South Carolina. Hobbs verbally committed to the Irish just as his recruitment be- gan to bud after his junior season. Georgia, Ohio State and Tennes- see were among the programs that ex- pressed interest in Hobbs but never of- ficially offered him because he remained fully committed to the Irish. Notre Dame cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens, who grew up in Southwest Ohio, has an eye for defensive back talent, and Hobbs' length and speed appealed to him. High school quarterbacks hardly tested Hobbs during his senior season. His side of the field usually remained untouched, which is a credit to his cov- erage skills. In 15 games, he had 11 passes broken up and 2 interceptions, along with 34 tackles (15 solo) and 0.5 tackles for loss. Hobbs signed with the Irish as the No. 60 cornerback and No. 579 overall player in the nation. 21. COLE MULLINS DL • 6-4, 240 HOSCHTON, GA. • MILL CREEK Mullins is one of the lower-ranked players in Notre Dame's recruiting class. That is understand- able, but some impor- tant context needs to be known. He played mostly as an inside linebacker during his junior season, but was expected to make the move to de- fensive end as a senior. However, he suf- fered a fractured fibula and didn't play a single snap. Notre Dame sources believed he would have a monster season and get a rankings bump. The Irish staff is excited about Mullins, who is projected to play vyper at Notre Dame. He is the No. 56 edge in America. — Singer 22. TEDDY REZAC LB • 6-3½, 185 OMAHA, NEB. • WESTSIDE During a spring recruit- ing visit to see 2025 four- star linebacker Christian Jones, Notre Dame de- fensive coordinator Al Golden stumbled upon Rezac, who is just the type of athlete the Irish need at the linebacker position. According to Westside coach Paul Li- mongi — who previously coached Irish All-America safety Xavier Watts at Omaha (Neb.) Harry A. Burke — Rezac runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash. He had 62 tackles (47 solo), 4 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble as a junior. Rezac followed that campaign up with 70 tackles (46 solo), 5 tackles for loss, 8 passes broken up and 4 interceptions as a senior. Although Rezac, who is the No. 63 linebacker in the land, is about 20-30 pounds away from playing for Notre Dame, the Irish have added an intriguing developmental prospect to their depth chart. His iden- tical twin brother, Anthony, will walk on at Notre Dame as a quarterback. — Kelly 23. KENNEDY URLACHER S • 5-11, 180 CHANDLER, ARIZ. • CHANDLER N F L l e ga cy p l aye rs have served Notre Dame's current roster well. Three of the team's top players, offensive tackle Joe Alt, defensive lineman How- ard Cross III and cornerback Benjamin Morrison, are all sons of former NFL players. Alt and Cross were All-Amer- icans in 2023, and Morrison was Fresh- man All-American in 2022. The 6-1, 180-pound Urlacher has the pedigree to follow in their footsteps. His father, Brian, is in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. Kennedy is a hard-hitting safety who was among the best players on one of the best teams in Arizona's highest football classification. The No. 72 safety in the nation, he had 47 tackles and 2 forced fumbles in 11 games as a senior. Look for him to replicate similar success for the Fighting Irish. — Kelly ✦